Monsters
by Movie-Brat
Summary: Originally submitted for a contest on dA. A drabble/oneshot. Third Earth has a rich history of itself but also the terrifying stories of monsters of all sorts. The scary thing is, they're real.


**Disclaimer: ThunderCats belongs to Warner Brothers and Ted Wolf. Others belong to their respective companies and creators.**

Throughout the history of Third Earth, myths and legends have come about especially during Thundera's heyday. But not all tall tales were filled with some stretch or exagerration of one animal's imagination. A lot of these so-called myths have been claimed to be real. As such, a lot of these tales of monsters and strange creatures tend to make people very superstitious should they come across any of them themselves or in fear that they'll come to them. Dozens of these myths and legends vary from simple monsters of their size or bigger to the simple but outright dangerous seemingly normal looking creatures save for one aspect, their faces-specifically their masks. But even they, animals would claim they have come across figures of legend probably older than time itself.

The fishmen would tell tales of a giant sea creature under the oceans as sometimes it could come up either to attack or just simply barely do anything. One peculiar story that would ring some truth to their claims of a sea monster as a few boats have been destroyed by a sea of flames fired from beneath the surface setting them ablaze sinking to their doom. The first ever incident repeatedly told was a young Jaga who once encountered the creature venturing outside of Thundera, he saw the giant beast face to face on a ship threatning the sailors. He shouted, "Go no further. Do not touch them. Go back at once." The creature turned away suddenly much to their rejoicing or so they thought, the scorerer noticed the creature's head turned to another direction as if it noticed something that warranted his attention.

His assumption was correct as the monster decimated a forest soon after. Some even say they claimed to have seen the water beast on land for a brief period of time.

Another monster of note is one Cats and other animals have claimed to have seen a small flying animal with wings that transforms into a humanoid-shaped figure. These tales come from travelers who have claimed to have met him face to face. Depsite his odd appearance being mostly hairless and devoid of any physical traits despite sort of resembling a cat, he was a charming and charismatic fellow. He called himself Dracula. However he proved to be most popular with the females since he has the ability to seduce them and later bite them on their necks. Many few lived to tell the tale of Dracula but nowadays they'd be laughed at for there could be no evidence of such a creature be found. It had happened before with a husband who had lost his wife to the beast and rallied a mob of angry villagers to find him but could not find the evidence he claimed to have had took place.

There would also be tales of a pale looking creature in ragged clothing lumbering around in the forest. The Petalars had seen him in their forest at one point and had scared them upon first contact. He had a curious look on his face but the Petalars would fear his appearance despite the creature's curiosity. He had been alone since his last encounter with his creator after almost being burned and crushed to death. Then there's the wolf creature that stood upright on two legs, howling when the moon is full and takes a life. The creature surprisingly attacks very specific targets and no one had seen the creature's original form but tales of such a creature create paranoia with the suggestion it could be anyone they know. Yet there was another sea creature though not a giant really. The fishmen would also claim to have seen him in the farthest rivers or swamps of Third Earth, beyond the sand sea. Unfortunately, many of them get killed on sight when the water creature sees them. They say he's off fishman origin but not much as it seems to be a recluse itself only appearing when it wants to be or if it's home is intruded upon.

Though as the legends for these monsters grew and grew, the more popped up and became more violent as they went on. Many have claimed to have seen a figure wandering in the deserted areas near a cave wielding some sort of weapon that buzzes and a mask that seemed to be comprised of stitched up flesh as well as in another part of Third Earth, mainly in the nothern area of a figure in dark clothing wandering about with most notable feature being a pale white, emotionless face; a mask of some sorts and stalks his prey silently on a specific day.

Another figure of legend that most have witnessed but not lived and also someone the Petalars had taken notice of was another figure in ragged clothing with a mask with holes searching around the woods and always returns to a specific location where he mostly resides there until he comes across intruders who go near his whereabouts. The most prominent however is someone referred to as the Nightmare Monster, who only appears in dreams-their nightmares. Out of all the monsters, he's a prominent figure in the collective conciousness of the Cats. The parents would tell stories of him just to scare little naughty children into behaving. Though the teenagers and adults don't believe save for a few who claimed to have met him but not all of them lived to tell more tales of him. Granted some of the victims were trainees for the military so the fact that they could have been stressed out of their minds could have been a reason. The most notable aspects of this particular monster were the red and green cloth and four blades on the finger tips of his right hand.

In terms of actual legends, some also claimed to have come across some notable figures. It has been said that if you visited an old witch, a being who resembles unlike any except maybe Dracula she'll perform a ritual that would help anyone's fuel for vengence. If you feel you had be wronged such as a loved one had died thanks to an assailant or someone you wished death upon, a demon by the name of Pumpkinhead will be summoned but for a price as legend says that the one who makes a deal to summon the demon will be connected to the creature so if he or she should suffer, so will the demon and the summoner becomes the next Pumpkinhead when the time comes again.

And another dresses up in ragged brown clothing but also resembles a winged demon upon shedding them. He takes away his victims either by air or by sneak attack. The creature was prominent during the great war on Third Earth basically taking away soldiers from both sides when they least suspect it. The situation had gotten dire to the point where the soldiers are paranoid and each side sent each other spies. But there were times where they claimed to have seen the faces of their dead comrades at brief glimpses in the woods. The odd thing is, for the battles that took place in winter or fall. It never showed up again and perhaps it's still waiting.

A cursed item being a simple puzzle box has jumped from place to place with the results being the same; their pleasures often result in death. Beings of unknown origin that are neither angels or demons come to them with an uneasy feel of intimidation surrounded sharp chains and hooks piercing through their skin and flesh, tearing the unfortunate soul apart. And despite all that, everything disappears afterwards.

In another part of the area, seemingly destroyed belonged to an evil spirit, one who cuts off their tongues should they intrude upon there. And often times she turns her victims into literal puppets, even raise them like they were her own children.

A figure of urban legends with dark skin can come if you face a face mirror and repeat his name five times and he'll kill the summoner. No one quite knew how or why his name came to be but tales of urban legend's exploits spread onto various cities and while it's been brushed as just well, an urban legend; it didn't stop some rambogious teenagers to basically goad a few innocents into trying it. The word regret came to their minds afterwards however.

Even what seemingly looked like toys don't seem necessarily safe. In the ruins of what looked like an old relic sitting on the steep edge of a cliff near the ocean, little puppets with strange faces and some even armed with blades on their arms or heads and while some look normal-they also display either strength or the ability to shoot weapons or vomit strong, prune-wormlike creatures known as leeches as well as a small strange doll with red hair that some claim is alive and running amok everywhere but no proof has been put forwarded.

Throughout the years, these creatures remained seen or unseen by most, only stories of their exploits were heard but eventually were either laughed out or just shrugged off as nothing more than myths, something they just can't prove. But one thing's for certain, those who have lived to face the monsters will probably live in fear forever, worrying and maybe waiting for their return and should they come for the victims they missed, they will show no mercy.

Mumm-Ra in particular is the only who is truly aware of their existence but never bothered with them either because they'd be uncontrollable in the end or in the likely event they'd betray him such as Dracula or that Krueger fellow that had and practically has haunted the dreams of young ones everywhere through the planet. But with them around, he couldn't possibly die nor would the Ancient Spirits of Evil allow it to happen.

The ThunderCats in the meanwhile, despite not really encountering them throughout their journey, they have come across clues of their existence such as the fact that the Thundertank once ran over a sign that said "Camp Crystal Lake 29." But the Wilytwins Kit and Kat were awrae of those stories but mostly use it each other for pranks. Snarf did not take them well however when he was the one being pranked. But neither of the adult cats believed in the stories, maybe when they were young cubs but as they grew, well, right now trying to obtain powerful stories is high on their priorities. Though Panthro never bought any stories about monsters, he always found himself during the seasons and years the beast never appeared.

The Thundertank rolled around a deep road, it had been weeks since they lost the tech stone to Mumm-Ra thanks to Pumyra's betrayal. Lion-O had at least recovered somewhat from that sort of loss. He was able to use the Sword of Omens to detect where the last stone was. It was about north from the landing site of Avista, miles away from the location. The animals had been sent back to their respective locations and the Berbils were still running repairs on the air fortress itself. The more the vehicle went down the path, Snarf was acting a bit weird; his fur was sticking up out of fright. And it reached its peak when he was screeching like mad.

"Snarf, what is it?!" Lion-O tried to calm down the pet.

"What's wrong?" The cleric known as Cheetara asked out of concern.

The future king could only reply with, "I have no idea."

"Calm him down!" Tygra said, getting a bit irritated by the small creature's noise.

In the cockpit, a beeping noise was heard. Panthro noticed the control panel was dying. It was on the fritz, basically blinking on and off for a moment before shutting down. The Thundertank finally halted after a few seconds.

"What the?" Panthro said in disbelief. He started the ignition again but to no avail despite one lick of noise.

"What's going on?" Wilykat asked, entering the cockpit.

"Blasted tank is dead for some reason." Panthro grunted his answer. He pounded the thing, maybe hoping it'd turn on again but alas, nothing.

The vehicle opened and the cats dispearsed, standing around waiting save for Snarf ruinning back and forth much to their confusion, save for Panthro who went under the vehicle to figure out the problem.

"What's his problem?" Wilykit asked about Snarf.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong." The old general slid away from the bottom of the Thundertank. "Everything looks like it should be fine."

As Panthro explained that the Thundertank should be in working order, Cheetara noticed an object not far from where they are. Suddenly, fog. Fog started to come in obsctructing her vision a bit preventing her from seeing the object.

"The heck?" Tygra looked at the fog in confusion. "Where did this fog come from?"

Thinking quickly, Lion-O unsthealhed his weapon, the sword of omens.

"Maybe the sword will allow us to see through the fog." Lion-O said before shouting, "Sword of Omens, give me sight beyond sight!"

His eyes glowed yellow but the young lion soon cried out in pain. He saw a quick but unclear vision of darkness, total darkness, a blade, red eyes and a scream.

The other cats reacted in concern, Cheetara and Tygra helped Lion-O up back on his feet.

"What happened?" "Are you okay?" Cheetara and Tygra asked him.

"I…have no idea." Lion-O breathed heavily, quite visibly shaken by his apparent vision. "Between this and Snarf acting weird, we should be on guard for anything."

The other cats nodded silently in response.

Cheetara had informed them of something she noticed not far from their current location. Figuring it could be a village of some sorts, they marched down there for a few minutes. Finally they arrvived there despite the thickness of the fog and Snarf yowling. Throughout the walk, Lion-O attempted to calm him down but to no avail.

"I don't know what's going on with him!" Lion-O said, a bit of distress in calming down Snarf who is too busy squirming around fracntically in his arms.

He then noticed Cheetara and the others had stopped, staring at something.

"What?"

"Look." Cheetara pointed straight ahead.

He looked at the object in front of him. Unknown to all the ThunderCats, they were staring at the sign that would lead them to ultimate evil and despair. Just as bad if not worse than hell. The sign that said:

WELCOME TO

SILENT Hill

"Welcome to Silent Hill?" Lion-O read the sign aloud in curosity ignoring the protests of Snarf.

"Must be the name of the village." Panthro said.

"Maybe we'll find help here." Tygra suggested.

Wilykit on the other hand seemed to be the only one very hesistant in entering, borderline shaking.

"I don't like this place." She said. "I have a bad feeling about it."

"Don't worry, we'll make sure nothing happens." Tygra reassured the young cub.

In the back of Lion-O's mind, he had a bad feeling something bad is bound to happen. He wasn't sure how or when but he had to be prepared.

"Let's go in." Lion-O ordered the other cats to enter.

They went in despite Snarf's yowling. They seemed to have disappeared into the fog when really, they simply entered the town at their own risk. Not long behind, a figure in dark rattled clothing and a mask with a few holes with two big holes in the center as the eyes and a red dash on the forehead, yielding the weapon was while not a sword but the tip of the blade is more swevered and looked more used for chopping. He walked towards the town passing by the sign.

However, watching from afar was a small lone figure in orange, carrying a bag on one hand and its head was more of a brown, dirty sack with two buttons as the eyes and a smile stitched onto the sack completing a face of some sorts. He stood by watching them enter the town in curiosity, waiting for to come out first. The ThunderCats have no idea of the dangers that lie ahead of them, even if they live, they will suffer greatly.


End file.
